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Bowl Season Will Be in the Palms of College Football Fans’ Hands as Ford Presents Highlights from ESPN on Twitter

DEARBORN – Ford never misses an opportunity to reach its audience, and now its audience will never miss a big play. The automaker is collaborating with ESPN SportsCenter and Twitter to place some of the biggest moments in college football this bowl season literally at the tips of fans’ fingers.

ESPN’s new “Promoted by Ford” tweets give fans the kind of instant access they crave, during one of the most exciting postseasons in sports. Moments after the crowd erupts, ESPN tweets out an image to its more than 5.5 million followers, linking to a video highlight.

No matter where they are – the stadium, at home, or if they just need a reminder of what they’re missing – fans can get real-time highlights from the entire bowl season from December to January including all six big bowl games on New Year’s Day and the BCS National Championship.

The innovative partnership is the latest example of Ford moving beyond traditional advertising and creating new ways to interact with its audience through digital media.

“We are constantly looking for new ways to reach our target audience and exploring innovative ways to implement digital media into the way we communicate with them,” said Erica Bigley, Ford & Lincoln Digital Media Manager. “It is very exciting to be able to bring this new feature to social media and the more than 24 million people who watch the BCS National Championship.”

Real-time playback of ESPN college football highlights is distributed by Twitter and user timelines:

• ESPN sends out a tweet from one of its four handles: @ESPN, @SportsCenter, @ESPNCFB, @CollegeGameday• The tweet includes a description of the video replay with link• After the user initiates the link by tapping it, an ad by Ford – the feature sponsor – appears followed by the instant highlight video• ESPN’s game highlights will be promoted through Twitter to users beyond their following based on interests (e.g., sports), location (e.g., Midwest) and device (e.g., mobile)

“Considered the country’s leading sports authority, the ESPN connection is a great way to facilitate the relationship between Ford and its audience – consumers who love their football and their cars,” said Bigley.

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